A reader of mine asked me this very question – ‘What is wrong with Blistex?’. That same reader commented how it made her lips burn. I haven't had similar experiences but when I started searching the net I found out that she was not alone. While Blistex offers short-term relief from the pain of chapped lips, it contains ingredients that may make you cringe. To be honest, I find Blistex to carry best drugstore lip balms and paying a low price to an effective lip balm is like pure gold for people with chronically dry lips such as mine. However, there is a question of becoming addicted to lip balms in general. That I have experienced and it was especially apparent with Blistex. It's like, when you first use it you do feel enormous relief but only 15 minutes later my lips feel bare, completely stripped from all moisture – in even worse state than prior to applying Blistex lip balms. I just need to apply it over and over again which never occurred to be a bad thing as these lip balms are cheap. But there is something about it all that makes me uneasy. A tube/pot of Blistex contains some 25 ingredients, including a variety of preservatives and dyes. Among the most concerning ingredients I find the following: Phenol. One of Blistex’s several active ingredients, phenol is considered toxic by some sources. On the other hand, such claims haven't been completely proven it seems but I have a different kid of beef with phenol. Found in a variety of mouthwashes and sore throat lozenges, phenol is an antiseptic that kills germs and provides a local anesthetic or mild numbing effect. In lip balms, phenol helps reduce the itching and burning associated with dry chapped lips and cold sores. It also helps to ‘gently’ remove old, dry and peeling skin found on very chapped lips. Basically, it's an antibacterial agent which strips the top layer of skin off your lips. That’s why you get addicted to these balms, they remove your natural protection, so you're constantly reapplying to try to restore a supple feeling to your lips. Saccharin, parabens, fragrance, mineral oil, parraffin, petrolatum and oxybenzone definitely seem threatening, however – I'm more focused on the fact that these are mostly cheap ingredients. Yup, in this case you get what you pay for but what really bothers me is that conspiracy vibe I'm getting. I feel that brands such as Blistex are shoving tons of cheap ingredients in their products, they're making you feel addicted to them by drying out your lips so you buy more of their stuff and – they don't warn you of possible irritans they contain. That's where I step in, as a consumer and a buyer I decide not to pay lots of money on such mimic-y products and I turn to better, more effective alternatives such as lip balms that do contain coconut oil, jojoba oil, hemp oil, beeswax, shea butter, sunflower oil and cocoa butter. At least those won't dry out my lips or only seal them. That's what petroleum does – it acts as an emollient that seals moisture in your lips – doesn't bring any itself. Or even better – slather some pure coconut oil on your lips. Nuxe Reve de Miel lip balm certainly has better ingredients so I don't mind paying more. These are only my thoughts on this subject and do take them with a grain of salt. Like chatting with a friend. It's completely up to you to decide for yourself. Do tell me how you feel about Blistex and do you plan on purchasing more in the future?
Citateljica me upitala doslovno slijedece – ‘sta se dodjavola desava sa Blistexom?’. Citateljica mi se pozalila da, iako funkcionise za vecinu, njoj je Blistex balzam za usne dodatno iziritirao i imala je osjecaj kao da gore. Iako nisam dozivjela slicnu stvar, kada sam pocela istrazivati na netu shvatila sam kako nije jedina. Iako Blistex pruza kratkotrajno olaksanje suhim usnama, sadrzi dosta sastojaka od kojih se naprosto jezim. Istinu govoreci, rekla bih vam ranije kako Blistex po mom misljenju ima najbolje drogerijske balzame. Platiti nisku cijenu od cca 5KM za nesto sto se cini jako efektnim balzamom je poput suhog zlata osobama koje pate od hronicno suhe koze usana. Ipak, postoji debata o stvaranju ovisnosti o takvim mazalicama za usne. Licno sam to dozivjela i ‘ovisnost’ je bila najizrazenija bas tokom koristenja Blistex proizvoda. Po nanosenju stvarno osjetim olaksanje i koza je mekana ali za petnaestak minuta usne su u gorem stanju nego prije koristenja – suhe, skoro pa potpuno lisene mekoce i hidratacije. Bukvalno sam imala potrebu da sve cesce i cesce tokom dana mazem usne Blistexom sto mi na prvu nije smetalo jer mislila sam ‘hej, barem je jeftin’. Nakon nekog vremena mi je to pocelo smetati. Jedna tubica Blistex balzama za usne sadrzi oko 25 sastojaka od kojih su vecinom konzervansi i bojila. Medju svim tim sastojcima (cesto nekvalitetnim), kao najveci razlog za brigu se izdvojio; fenol. Fenol neki izvori navode kao toksican sastojak no koliko sam shvatila ti navodi nisu nepobitno dokazani. Mene nesto drugo muci vezano za fenol. Cest je sastojak u vodicama za ispiranje usta te bombonama za smirenje upaljenog grla – fenol je antiseptik koji unistava bakterije te pruza blagu lokalnu anesteziju tj. blagi osjecaj trnaca. U balzamima za usne, fenol pomaze kod svrbeza i perutanja sto je cesto kod iznimno suhe koze usana. Isto tako, fenol potpomaze ‘njezno’ uklanjanje te stare, suhe i perutave koze. Ukratko, on je antibakterijski agens koji skida povrsinski sloj koze sa usana. Saharini, parafini, parfemi, mineralno ulje, petrolati i oksibenzon – sve su to sastojci koji se mnogima nece dopasti iz razlicitih razloga. Meni najvise upada u oci to sto su tako jeftini. Sada rizikujem da zvucim kao paranoidna osoba ali cini mi se da se radi o klasicnoj ‘zavjeri’ protiv konzumenata. Brendovi poput Blistexa (baziranog u Kanadi) pune svoje proizvode jeftinim sastojcima, potom vam isusuju usne tako da mislite kako vam treba jos njihovih proizvoda a povrh svega toga – nece vas obavijestiti o potencijalnim iritansima. Tu uskacem kao konzument, kao obicni potrosac i za sebe odlucujem da necu vise trositi svoj novac na takve proizvode. Usudim li se reci lazne i dijelom prevarantske? Radije cu se okrenuti alternativama koje sadrze kokosovo ulje, ulje jojobe, pcelinji vosak, karite puter, suncokretovo ulje i kakao puter. Barem mi nece dodatno isusiti usne ili ih samo premazati. To je upravo sto petrolej i slicni derivati nafte cine – to su emolijensi koji zatoce hidrataciju zastitnim slojem ali je sami ne donose. Ili jos bolje – namazite usne cistim kokosovim uljem. Nuxe Reve de Miel uopste nema lose sastojke tako da mi nije zao izdvojiti vise novca. U svakom slucaju, ovo su neke moje misli i uzmite ih sa rezervom – kao da ste caskali sa prijateljicom. Svakako je na vama da donesete odluku za sebe. Slobodno podijelite sa mnom svoje misljenje o Blistexu i da li cete kupovati u buducnosti njihove proizvode?
